Team Matters

We were having a wee discussion at the weekend to decide what we could write about in this weeks column. We had a look back at the topics in recent weeks and realised there was one rather important feature that had been neglected - the team. All the politics off the park can easily distract fans and players from what is happening on the park so let's have a look at the start we've made.

There were a few comings and goings in the squad but overall the general impression was we were at least as good as the squad that took us to 4th place last term. Our opening two games went as predicted with a loss at Ibrox and a win, albeit hard fought, against Thistle. Since then it's been all downhill with poor performances against Motherwell and Hearts plus another hard fought point at home to Dundee so what's the reasons for our sluggish start?

One noticeable change from last season is the change of formation from 3-5-2 to a more basic 4-4-2. JJ stated last year that 4-4-2 is generally his preferred option however he felt that with the personnel at his disposal we appeared to function better using the two wing backs. We are certainly taking our time to adapt to the new system and if performances don't improve you may well see the management team reverting back to three centre backs.

Melly has been handed the no.1 jersey but got away to a bad start with his error at Ibrox. It seems his confidence may have taken a bit of a dent and JJ may want to see how Dubordeaux handles the SPL pressure.

In defence Shields was excellent in his sweeper role last season and it may be worth giving him another run in that position. Freddy has probably been our best player thus far and with Greer/McLaughlin/Hessey/Dillon all challenging there's no shortage for that role. It was nice to see Canero return against Hearts but he's surely better used as a wingback that at left back where his attacking options are limited. He may even be used on the right hand side with Hay or Dillon occupying the left side role.

Midfield appears to be a problem area for us this term and if we don't get it sorted we'll continue to be overrun by more mobile teams. Mahood is struggling with a recurring knee problem and Fulton is struggling for form so there may well be changes in the next few games. We have been hit hard by injuries and we don't have great cover in this area but McDonald/Locke/Dodds/Hardie/Fowler offer us options. We have trouble getting a midfielder who regularly makes forward runs to support the front men, perhaps Gary McDonald should be given an extended run to try and establish himself.

Boyd has started the season fairly well but McSwegan has yet to find form and again we may see a change in this position. Nish played fairly well when he came on against Hearts and the sooner Invincibile gets back the better. Wee "Ruby" has performed well so far and must be pushing for a start against Livi whilst Di Giacomo is waiting on the wings to get back in the starting eleven.

Overall its been a disappointing start but we're only five games into a long season. JJ did remarkably well to get us to 4th last season but will find it more difficult this time with the financial constraints he's had to work under. I'm sure the management team have the ability to turn things around but we need to get going fairly quickly as it's easy to get into a rut. Livi has been a lucky ground for us since they come up and another good performance this week could see our season kick started - here's hoping.

Chairmen Chuck It

As exclusively revealed (up yours Chick) in The Rumour Mill section of the website at the beginning of the week, Killie Chairman Sir John Orr has decided to stand down at the next AGM, believed to be around 10th December. It did not come as a huge surprise because he had already indicated a few weeks ago to us that he wouldn't be in charge forever, we can only assume now that this announcement was what he was inferring to!

The club released a press statement detailing that SJO was standing down due to other commitments but would continue his support for Killie via a couple of seats in the Chairman's Club. One thing is for sure, Sir John has not had an easy time of it (especially with pains in the backside like us around) with Scottish football being in such a parlous state at the moment and many a weaker character would have chucked it long before now, but life goes on and the outgoing chairman would be the first to admit that no man is bigger than the club and Kilmarnock FC will carry on regardless.

We spoke to KFCSA chairman Colin Hargreaves about SJO's announcement. Colin said: "I think the move by Sir John to step down was a wise one from the fans perspective. We need a chairman to spend time at the club and to work to forward Kilmarnock as a club and business. Due to Sir John's other work interests and his locality, I welcome his honesty in stepping down as in the best interests of Kilmarnock FC."

The news that Sir John Orr was standing down came hard on the heels of the news that Colin himself is also on the road out. The fan's chief announced last week on the Killie Kickback forum that he was going to bow out at the next scheduled KFCSA monthly meeting, a move which will be a surprise to the majority of Killie supporter's, but not to his friends. Again we spoke to Colin about why he thought his time in the hot seat had come to an end. He said: "It was my intention to stand down as KFCSA chairman in the summer of 2003 due to the apathy shown by most fans, however, following the clubs actions on the last day of season 2002/2003, I felt that I couldn't leave until the issues emanating from that day had been met head on and dealt with."

He went on: "Following two successful meetings with the club and the police, I felt I had achieved this, and can now walk away with my head held high, I will now devote my time to the Kilmarnock Trust."

The KFCSA's loss is obviously the Killie Trust's gain but it must be considered a real shame that Colin's drive and enthusiasm was not enough to spark some new life into the Association, and a real worry for those he leaves behind. Will this now spell the end for this ageing dinosaur? It has became apparent over the last few seasons that the voice of the Association does not carry the same weight with the club as it used to and the newly formed Trust seems to be taking on the mantle of spokesmen for the fans.

The world's oldest teenager, vice chairman Jack Sharp, is left holding the bag and it will now be up to him and the members of his committee as to how they will proceed. I could be that some of the old guard like Broon or Dearie will take up the baton once more but unless someone does something, and does it fast, then the KFCSA may be consigned to the history books once and for all. Is there life in the old dog yet? Only you can decide.

Take it to the Limit...

...one more time, sang The Eagles at Hampden Park during their world tour and Scotland are doing precisely that in their European Championships qualifying matches. Last time here we welcomed our clubs' success thus far in Europe this term and wondered if the national team could do the same. Sadly it wasn't to be but Scotland's performances in the two recent games do give cause for encouragement.

Let's take the Faroes game first. Yes, it was at times nervous, sure it looked a bit rocky at 1-1, certainly a 3-1 win is no cause for street parties. But let's get things in perspective. Germany struggled to a 2-1 home win over the North Atlantic islanders and four days after our match at Hampden England laboured to a 2-0 win over Liechtenstein in Manchester. Essentially these matches are like domestic cup-ties between a top division side and a non-league team. The 'little' team come prepared to defend in depth, hope for a hit on the break and that the 'big' side has an off-day. Our 'off-days' came away to the Faroes and in Lithuania and they may yet cost us dear.

At least the position in Scotland's group is fairly straightforward. Beat Lithuania at Hampden and we will be in the play-offs unless Iceland win in Germany. And as the Germans still require a point from that match to win the group that remains an unlikely, though not impossible scenario. Compared to Group Two where qualification is still being contested between four teams, Group Ten where any one of three can still qualify automatically and Group Four where three countries are chasing the play-off spot, our task seems simple. On paper anyway.

For we ignore Lithuania at our peril. Standards have risen in the Baltic States quite considerably since the dissolution of the USSR. Apart from the fact that Lithuania have already beaten us in Vilnius, they also drew away to Germany. Latvia go into their last match holding down a play-off spot. And Estonia not only turn up for matches these days they have the ability to draw away to Croatia and take a point off Bulgaria.

It is not going to be easy but we can take heart from the result against the Faroes and performance in Dortmund. After a bright opening Scotland were always second best. Some commentators suggested that we were unlucky and that refereeing decisions cost us dear. We cannot agree. The German penalty award was perfectly fair. Stephen Pressley displayed his usual penchant for wrapping himself around attackers and, in truth; we have been lucky not to concede more spot-kicks in recent games. As for the sending-off of Maurice Ross, the Rangers player went in for a tackle with studs showing just minutes after being booked. The only possible outcome was a yellow card and a second yellow means dismissal.

Berti Vogts surprised just about everybody by fielding a front three but perhaps the most disappointing aspect of the night was Barry Ferguson's anonymity. This was the ideal occasion for Bazza to show that he is the player his fans reckon him to be and he flunked it. We can only hope that Ferguson's move south will energise him the way a similar transfer has turned Neil McCann from a fringe player into Scotland's star performer. The Southampton winger was easily our best player in both games and his goal against Germany was one to savour.

Much has been made of Christian Dailly's comments at full-time. For the benefit of those unable to see the game live Dailly was clearly heard to be calling the Germans 'f****** cheats' while the BBC was interviewing Vogts. Fortunately referee Anders Frisk didn't overhear his comments and we can only hope that the German FA don't pay too much attention to BBC Scotland as Dailly - our most experienced international - will be a crucial presence for Scotland in our final game and we can ill-afford for him to be suspended. Defeat but a much-improved performance in Dortmund.

It may be tempting fate to look ahead to the play-offs but rumours emanating out of Nyon suggest that the draw might be 'fixed' to the advantage of the bigger nations. For the last tournament in 2000 the play-offs draw was an open affair. Eight names went into the bowl and four pairings came out. This time round UEFA have indicated that teams might be seeded. It's not hard to see why. With one match to go Holland are definitely in the play-offs and Spain look likely to join them. Either Turkey or England will be involved as well and there is an outside chance that Italy too will fail to qualify automatically.

Let's be blunt about this. TV money dictates the rules here and there is no way UEFA want to see England, Spain or Holland lose out while allowing Latvia and Slovenia to fight it out for a place in the Finals. It's not fair. It's not right. But that's how football works these days. It happens in our domestic game in the League Cup so maybe we shouldn't complain too much if seedings are used.

What it means for Scotland is that should we reach the play-offs then it's most likely we will face an uphill struggle to get to the Finals. Spain and Holland are currently ranked three and four in the world with Turkey and England at seven and eight. That's three of the likely seeds accounted for. The fourth would come from whichever of Italy, Ireland, Denmark, Belgium, Romania or Norway finished second in their group. At least one of those countries must come second and they are listed here in order of FIFA ranking. Whatever way you look at it, it leaves Scotland with a mountain to climb. Still, a year ago in the Faeroes few would have backed us to still be in with a chance with a game to play. The Lithuania match takes place in the same month as Hampden Park celebrates its centenary. Let's hope it's a birthday to remember.

A big thanks to well-known author and Killie fan Davie Ross for sending us the above article from his much vaunted scottishleague.net website, pay it a visit the next time you are online, it's well worth it. The announcement of the upcoming derby fixture against the Yahoos has ruffled a few feathers among Killie supporter's who are also avid followers of our national team. There is an outside chance that due to German television the Scotland v Lithuania kick off will be re-scheduled for an evening kick off but if it doesn't there are going to be a lot of tough decisions being made as whether to watch Killie cuff the lot from the piggery in a friendly of whether to opt for a day out in Glasgow watching Scotland possibly qualify for a Euro 2004 play off spot.

Read the B&H column in the Kilmarnock Standard every week